Marin educators plan anti-fentanyl efforts

As 2024 kicks off, fentanyl is an even stronger focus for local schools, groups and colleges to step up their prevention and education efforts against the lethal opioid.

The College of Marin Student Health Center in Kentfield, the private Mark Day School in San Rafael and the Marin County Office of Education are planning anti-fentanyl efforts this month, said Anita Renzetti of OD Free Marin, the San Rafael organization formerly called RxSafe Marin.

“Marin averages more than one fatal overdose per week,” Renzetti said. “Most of those are associated with fentanyl.”

Fentanyl is also the leading cause of death for people age 55 and younger, she said.

Renzetti said Marin’s push against fentanyl began in 2018, when the synthetic opioid began proliferating in other drugs such as fake prescription Xanax or Percocet pills. The campaign accelerated last year, Renzetti said.

“We’re seeing the momentum grow in the fight against fentanyl, and our goal is to support countywide action,” Renzetti said.

The county recently received an $85,000 grant from the Public Health Institute to add training sessions on Narcan, the overdose reversal nasal spray, and fentanyl test strips for community groups such as Canal Alliance and North Marin Community Services, Renzetti said.

The test strips, which can be used on pills or powders to detect the presence of the highly lethal fentanyl, are available at the College of Marin Student Health Center, said Ryan Byrne, student services director at the school.

State law requires the strips, which require a small amount of water to activate, to be available at community college campuses starting this week.

“We want to provide fentanyl test strips as a harm reduction tool as part of a multi-pronged strategy to educating students about the dangers of drug use and the fatal nature of fentanyl,” Byrne said.

Narcan is also on hand at the college for students or staff. In addition, all Marin public schools and most private schools already have supplies of Narcan, and staff are trained how to use it, Renzetti said.

“We have training videos in English and Spanish,” she said.

The Mark Day School announced Tuesday that it will screen a film for parents about the effect of fentanyl overdoses on families Jan. 23. There will also be a panel discussion about fentanyl.

“This event is inspired by the leadership of a Mark Day graduate, Avery Kalafatas, who started Project 1 Life to raise awareness of the danger of fentanyl,” said Joe Harvey, the head of school.

“We are grateful to be in partnership with Avery and her family as well as Marin Public Health and the Marin County Office of Education on raising awareness of this critical health issue in our community,” Harvey said.

Renzetti said a copy of the film is available at odfreemarin.org.

Another upcoming event is a talk by David Sheff, author of “Beautiful Boy: A Father’s Journey through his Son’s Addiction,” at 6 p.m. Jan. 18 at the Marin County Office of Education.

The talk, titled “Navigating Youth Substance Abuse,” will be in person and online. It will be followed by a community panel discussion on March 14.

The education office is at 1111 Las Gallinas Ave. in San Rafael. Registration and additional details are online at shorturl.at/cyDIP.